Biohazard cleanup firm investigated

May 28, 2013

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The Iowa attorney general has launched a formal investigation into the business practices of an Illinois company accused of gouging customers for biohazard cleanup.

Bill Brauch, who heads the office’s Consumer Protection Division, said he cannot comment on the investigation of Aftermath Inc.

The state’s formal investigation comes after a Des Moines Register Reader’s Watchdog column last month brought to light concerns from Cynthia Holtgrewe of Bellevue, Neb., whose teenage grandson took his own life by gunshot in Fort Dodge.

Aftermath had been the subject of complaints to the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in at least a dozen states over staggeringly high prices and questionable business practices.

The company charged $44,000 for a day’s work at the home of Holtgrewe’s daughter and son-in-law. Since then, several other Iowans have contacted the Reader’s Watchdog regarding similar charges for cleanup after loved ones died.

Aftermath co-owner Chris Williams did not return phone calls Monday seeking comment. But the company’s spokeswoman, Laura McGowan, has steadfastly defended the nationwide company’s pricing in the April column.

McGowan has said the price of biohazard cleanup depends on the size and scope of the work, and she has contended the Fort Dodge family was involved at every step of the way.

The company has obtained liens and judgments worth more than a half-million dollars against the homes and estates of Iowans who could not or would not pay for its services.

In Illinois, the attorney general’s office has mediated a dozen disputes over the past decade, most of them over the cost of services, according to spokesman Scott Mulford.

The company has been the subject of more serious lawsuits and investigations in Texas, Ohio and Massachusetts, after customers were stunned by charges of $20,000 to $40,000 to clean up biohazard scenes.

Since my April column, several Iowa law enforcement agencies and medical examiners have ceased distributing the company’s phone number and marketing materials to consumers.

Consumers who want to contact Brauch at the attorney general’s office can call him at 888-777-4590 or at 515-281-5926.

Groups doing more for refugees

Community leaders have begun to better organize help for the roughly 2,000 refugees in Polk County from Myanmar.

They were first featured last November in a column about the living conditions faced by 200 refugees at Douglas Terrace Apartments in Des Moines.

Henny Ohr, who has taken time away from her law career to head efforts at the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center, a nonprofit formed by Burmese leaders, says all the attention and offers of support after the column caught her group and others off guard. The onslaught of those of wanted to volunteer or donate to help the high-need refugee community made different groups realize more organization was needed.

Polk County officials, Zion Lutheran Church members, Des Moines Area Community College and Des Moines Public Schools representatives, United Way and others have been holding “refugee roundtables” to better identify needs of the families, she said.

Groups that work directly with the Burmese — Lutheran Services in Iowa, Catholic Charities, the Visiting Nurse Services and Broadlawns Medical Center — are also meeting on Tuesday to better coordinate their efforts.

Ohr said she had hoped to organize tenants at the run-down complex, but some residents feared retaliation from landlord Steven Ames. The city housing appeals board upheld a maximum $5,000 fine levied at the complex, where pests and poor upkeep put the complex’s rental license in jeopardy.

Ohr said Ames has since initiated “improvements on the outside of the building, but inside the apartments conditions have not improved much.”

Ohr said her hope is to make some big announcements by World Refugee Day on June 20. In the meantime, she is looking for those who can offer tutoring and activities for Douglas Terrace kids off-site. You can reach her at ohesun@gmail.com.

Lee Rood’s Reader’s Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com or by calling 515-284-8549.